Never let me go
by damonslady
Summary: Delena meet under different circumstances in real life. She's been cheated on and he's been down that road as well. He's everything she's never wanted but still he becomes a part of her life. What will happen to them? Can two human beings that are so different share their lives with each other? Contains a lot of Stefarine too.
1. A Night To Remember

"God, you wouldn't believe how good he is in bed.", my twin sister exclaimed the second she walked through the front door. I frowned. Now I had to listen to another detailed story about Katherine's adventurous sex life.  
"He's gorgeous, and so different from all the other ones. You know, Mason was all kinky, Tyler was all rough, but he's - I don't know - he's so innocent and he's really sweet. And totally the romantic type. Oh but that doesn't make him any less talented. Gosh, you should feel his fingers on your body." Kat closed her eyes and thought back to her previous night.  
I sighed and put a full plate of pasta in front of her onto the table.

"Oh, and he's rich." She winked at me.  
"Kat, you know I don't like listen to your stories about how you screw nice and good men. You're gonna throw that guy away in at least a week and he'll be devastated. Like all the other ones." I started ranting annoyed.  
"How do you know I'm not gonna fall for him? He might be the one", Kat tried to be serious. I let out a laugh.  
"Yeah, right sister heart, You're going to get bored at your third date. Maximum fourth."  
"Well, then I just need to keep the relationship between the four walls of his bedroom. Preferably mine, I've got so much to show him." A wicked smile appeared on her face.

I just ignored her and ate my pasta. It was impossible to talk any sense into her. She was a bitch and she damn well knew it. She broke hearts like a hobby. She just didn't care much if she hurt people. There wasn't anything I could do about it. And believe me, I tried.

Finally Kat stopped talking because she got at least enough manners to keep her mouth shut while chewing. And my pasta was delicious so I assumed that she would be fiddling with it for a little bit longer. I hurried to avoid hearing the rest of the story and was done pretty fast. I put my plate in the sink and was happy that Kat was still occupied with my dish, so I attempted to leave the room. But never celebrate to early because now I had to decide whether I would ignore her muffled call after me. But since I was a lot nicer than my older sister I chose to turn around and look at her.

"I didn't finish my story.", she pouted like a little girl. It was really confusing how she could be this seductive, sexy vamp the one moment and the little, spoilt brat the next one.  
"I'm sorry, Kat, but it's not my fault that you come home so late. I've got a date and I need to get ready. You should have come earlier or talked faster." I didn't exactly need to get ready just yet but I wasn't fond on hearing the following and much more detailed part of Kat's story.

"Oh, with Stefan again? This appears to be getting serious."  
And there it was, half an hour was gone by since she came through the door and finally I could see a little bit of resemblance between us. She was sincerely happy for me, although I knew that she didn't understand my desire to be in a serious relationship. At all.  
"Yeah, I guess so." I replied. "He is really amazing." And with that a little smile crept on my lips at the thought of Stefan. He was the perfect match for me. He was really handsome, so nice, gave me the feeling of security and he treated me like a princess.

"Have you slept with him?" Oh it was so Katherine to ask that question in the very beginning.  
"No" I shook my head "I don't know, I want to wait until we know each other better."  
"In other words, he hadn't made his move yet." Kat laughed. And I blushed. It was true, it was the only thing that made me feel insecure about the relationship. It seemed like he didn't want me in _that _way and naturally I was a shy person who wouldn't dare to bring up a subject like that.  
"Na, na, na. Poor baby sis. C'mon, I'll help you. I'll give you some of my stuff, then he won't be able to resist you.", she said while standing up and walking by out of the door.

I prevented the sigh from escaping my lips, walked back into the kitchen and put Kat's plate into the sink. God, this girl was so untidy.  
I followed her upstairs into her room where she went through her wardrobe, looking for an outfit for me. After a few minutes in which I just sat on her King-Size-Bed, she let out scream of triumph. She approached me with her eyes shining and held up a negligee that was truly beautiful.  
I know beautiful wasn't usually the right word to describe underwear - it was either sexy or cute, or maybe ugly - but I had never seen a dessous like that. I couldn't think of another word to describe it.  
It was made out of black silk and on each side it had red patterns worked into the fabric. Other patterns were in black so they only stood out a little which made the dress look fragile and very expensive. The hem was only lace and it made the whole look. Carefully I let my hand slide over the fabric, being taken in by that piece of clothing.  
"Wow." I kept staring at it as it laid there in my hands.

Katherine squeaked "Put it on. GO."  
I didn't let her tell me that twice and entered the bathroom.  
"Hey, so do your shaving where it is needed and while you do that I'll go pick out the perfect outfit for you." I heard her yell through the door. I sent a short prayer to heaven that I wouldn't be looking like a slut.

An hour later I was standing in front of the full length mirror, looking exactly like my sister. She had curled my normally straight hair into wavy locks - the only thing that differed us in our appearance (next to our style) - and I was wearing a sexy short dress whose color I couldn't quite define. It was something like beige with black lace above it and it hugged my body like a second skin. I had to admit, I looked stunning.  
"So, Elena, _this _is a look to seduce." Kat whispered in my ear. I smiled, yeah, Stefan wouldn't stand a chance.  
"Okay, now we just have to make sure you actually know how to seduce a man properly. I'll teach you."  
"I know how to seduce a man, Kat." I started protesting but I knew she would give me the lesson anyway.  
"You see, I think that you _believe _that you know how to flirt and everything - and don't get me wrong, that is really sweet - but we both know that I'm a little bit more experienced in that stuff." Kat winked. I was pissed though. Why did she have to be like that? But for the thousandth time or so today I killed the words that were threatening to escape my lips and let her have her way. Why was I so nice again?

Another hour later, I was finally ready to go in Katherine's eyes. I would have considered me ready at least 45 minutes ago, but Kat believed that she had to refresh my memories about seduction and flirting, beginning with the simplest basic things. Anyways, now I was all set to go and I grew more and more excited with every minute that passed in which I was waiting for Stefan to come and pick me up. I couldn't even remember the last time I had sex. Must had been during my vacation in Florida a little time back. Way too long ago.

The night was going to be legendary.


	2. Doppelgänger

**Author's Note: Okay so I'm stupid and forgot to make some things clear in Chapter 1. I'm really glad for the reviews I already got and just so you know that means a lot considering that I only just started publishing my writing and getting feedback motivates me to continue doing it. So please keep reviewing :)  
Then I have to warn you; it usually takes me ages to upload new chapters and I apologize for that in advance. It's because I write the things down per hand and I hate typing it on the computer afterwards. But I'll try my best to minimize your waiting period, 'cause I know exactly how much that sucks lol**  
**Oh and I'm sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes, I read it over and over and then when I publish it I still find hundreds of errors, so I'm sorry for that as well.**

**Aaaand I wanted to add some information for you to understand the plotline better! So, Katherine and Elena are obviously twins and couldn't be any more different. They're both 21 and live in a small town (bigger than Mystic Falls though), Katherine is not working, she 'enjoys life' as she likes to say, but Elena is an investigating journalist.**  
**The rest will be explained throughout the story. I don't want to give too much away.**

**Of course I don't own The Vampire Diaries and blahblahblah you know what.**

**Enjoy xxxx**

* * *

Soon enough Stefan rang the doorbell and the surprise was written all over his face as he took in my appearance. His whole face lit up.

"Wow, Elena. You look amazing." His eyes traveled over my body and if I haven't felt sexy before, I definitely did now. I walked out of the door with him, noticing what a hard time he had keeping his eyes off of my body and I caught him giving my butt an approving glance now and then.  
Like he couldn't get his eyes off of me, I couldn't keep the smile off of my face.

But that changed as he drove us to the local restaurant we went every time. The smile disappeared from my face in a second as I noticed that his eyes were still on me and we were driving way too fast. I panicked. I always did. That was just the way I was. My parents had died in a car accident 9 years ago and I still got nervous when I just looked at a car. But most of the time I hid it under a smile, knowing that I couldn't get anywhere without having a car.

"Could you slow down?", I asked, trying to hide my fear. I hadn't told him about my past yet, it was not like me to open up to somebody so fast. But I knew that at some point - some point soon - I had to tell him. He looked at the speedometer and then at me, a confused look in his eyes.

"I'm not even that fast. And we have to hurry a bit so that we get the table that is reserved for us. You know how crowded that place can be and if we don't make it there until 8.15 the table will be given to someone else." He reasoned.

"Yeah, I know. But please?" I begged him, I didn't care what he must think of me in that moment. He slowed down gradually and as the speed was back in my comfort zone I started to relax a little. But the tension was still there. I should really tell him about it soon, I thought.

"Is it okay like that?", he asked nicely and I couldn't tell if he was annoyed or not.

"Yes, thank you." I gave him an apologizing smile and I was relieved as he returned it. It would have been a shame if this night would have been ruined by a silly thing like that. And as we pulled over and got into the restaurant where our table was luckily still free, I reassured me that nothing else could get in my way tonight.  
And that was where I was wrong.

* * *

The night went well, except for the fact that the conversation was without any depth but both, Stefan and me, were hurrying to get to to his place. Stefan couldn't look me in the face for 30 seconds straight; he looked - after approximately 25 seconds - down to marvel my cleavage. I was flattered but I kind of missed talking to him about relevant things, and not about the weather or the unfriendly waitress.  
But since I myself was pretty horny I didn't really mind that much. And as the tension between built up with every minute that passed by, I realized that I didn't care at all. Because I wanted to feel his body moving with mine and I caught myself zooming out of the conversation and thinking about all the things he could do to me.

That was until a male voice threw me back into reality. The voice appeared to come closer and I could assume that the person whom it belonged to was pretty upset. Upset was not enough, try mad. The man shouted something like "You bitch." and some other insults. Irritated and slightly annoyed I turned around just to discover that his pierce blue eyes were laid on me. Only more irritated I looked back at Stefan to check if some other woman stood there. He couldn't possibly be talking to me. But as he stopped right in front of me and hit his fist onto the table so that my glass of wine almost fell off of it, I got proven wrong.

"Who do you think you are?", he shouted at me. I've never looked in the eye's of someone that was that mad. Because probably I never even had pissed someone off or got him annoyed. I was the kindness in person, so now that those _really _blue eyes were stabbing into my soul I felt a cold feeling rush through me and I was totally taken aback and not any where near to be able to form words. I stared up to him blankly, in shock by this sudden intrusion.

Stefan's eyes wandered from their spot on my boobs up to the stranger and his face fell.

"Damon?" Stefan raised his voice, sounding as cold as I've never heard him before. In general, I hadn't seen him getting even upset, but now I guessed was the time, because Stefan stood up and his usually caring and loving eyes were cold as ice.  
I had been so focused on my boyfriend's facial expressions that I hadn't notice the same happening on the stranger's face.

"Stefan." He let it sound like an insult. And then he turned to me again.

"Of all the people you had to choose him? _Stefan_? Why would you do that to me?" The way he said my boyfriend's name really got to me. It sounded so negative the way he pronounced it, and that was what got my brain working again. I was finally able to talk instead of just observing, whilst keeping my mouth shut.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you. I'm here for dinner with my boyfriend. I'm afraid you got the wrong person." I tried to calm him. Maybe he was a mad man. Maybe he needed help. I glanced at Stefan but he his eyes were still focused on that guy's face.

"Really? You're just going to pretend you don't know me? Are you being serious?" The voice of the stranger had calmed, what was almost scarier than his shouting. He stared at me with those blue eyes and all I could do was stare back. It was like he was hypnotizing me with those blue crystals and I was helpless.

"Damon, leave Elena alone. Go and never show your face again." Stefan's voice brought me back into reality and I snapped my eyes off the oceans they were falling in. What was happening anyways? Who was that guy and what did he want from me?

"Elena?" He asked a look of confusion on his face. "You're going under a different name too?" And there the anger was again.

"Damon, leave it. Elena said she doesn't know you so just let it go." Stefan said and I could see his jaw tighten as he fought to keep control and stay calm.

"Oh really? And if she doesn't know me that means I don't know her, right?" He asked, more rhetorically and didn't wait for an answer. "So, I wouldn't know that she has a little birthmark right _here."_ And with that he lifted my left arm up and exposed my heart-shaped birthmark on my skin.  
My face fell, did I know him? I couldn't tell. But I would think that I would remember someone with that kind of intense eyes.

"Admit it, Katherine. You're screwed." said Damien - Was it Damien? - and at that moment everything fell into place. He was mistaken me for my sister. He was her new toyboy, her new adventure. Everything made sense now and a relieved giggle escaped my lips as I relaxed. Sure, why didn't I think about that earlier?  
But for the two guys in front of me it must have seemed like I was going mad or something because I saw a concerned look on Stefan's and a confused look on Damon's face.

"Care to enlighten us what's so funny about the situation?" Damien, Darren, or whatever his name was, asked furrowing his brows.

"I know what's going on." I started looking first Stefan deep into the eyes and then switched to the other guy's blue ones. "He had indeed the wrong person...", I continued and as I saw Damon preparing himself to interrupt, I raised my voice "No, let me explain. I have a twin sister and we look exactly alike. Her name is Katherine and she just told me about you this morning." As I was speaking I noticed how strange that sounded. Like a poor excuse, a really poor one. And that was probably what the two men thought as well because now even Stefan was looking sceptically into my direction.

"No, believe me. I can prove it." I exclaimed. Stefan and the guy - who's name was something with D I guess; I really cursed my non-existing ability to remember names - shared a look and even if they didn't say something I knew that they were thinking the same. She's lying. Well, if somebody was trying to make me believe that her twin sister who was looking _exactly _like oneself was making things complicated, I probably wouldn't believe it as well. But since it was the truth I was pretty confident that I could prove my mental health and the existence of my doppelgänger.

"I really can prove it." I repeated, not sure what else to say.

"You better." The reply came from Kat's new lover and I could see the same statement in Stefan's eyes.  
Well, that could be fun, I thought and got up.

I probably wouldn't have sex after all. That was the last thing that went through my mind as I exited the restaurant, one skeptical boyfriend and some mad stalker following right behind me.

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_**Okay, what do you guys think? Good enough? haha please review and let me know how I did :)  
Oh, and if you'd like to check out the story I'm a co-writing just check out bukibuki and our story 'Not Like The Movies' - it's about Nian having a baby.**_

**_And one last thing, if you'd like to get spoilers and information about my writing progress, follow me on Tumblr (imawarriorprincess)_**

**_So, let's hope I'll update soon haha_**


	3. Told ya

_**Hey you Guys. I'm so so so so sorry for not updating earlier. I know I suck and I can't even make it up to you with this shitty chapter. So critics bear with me haha No it was really hard over the last couple of weeks to find some time to write. School's way too much work, my job's killing me and the few hours of free time I try to use for sleep.  
But I'll try to update as soon as possible next time . I promise !**_

Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes - I'm not really having the time of my life. I hope you won't notice it in my way of writing!

Enjoy and leave a comment, that makes me happy:)

* * *

The whole car drive was dead quiet and I sent prayer after prayer to the lord that Kat would be home, since I didn't have my phone with me to check. My worries didn't come out of nowhere considering that it was a friday night and my sister usually didn't miss a chance to have a night out. So all I could do was hope and pray.

I unlocked the front door and asked the two of them inside leading them into the kitchen.

"Whoa, you're back early. What went wrong?" Kat's voice came from upstairs. The boys shared a look.

"Kat, would you mind coming down here for a sec?" I shouted back, to relieved to explain everything now and then.

I let myself fall down on one of the chairs, not bothering about the two men standing awkwardly over by the fridge. A few minutes passed in which the silence was all over the house until finally we all could hear the footsteps on the stairs. Stefan and his rival both turned around, waiting eagerly and as Kat rushed by them looking stunning as ever I could literally see their jaws drop to the floor. She was styled and you could see that she was about to leave the house to party. She stormed by the two men not even noticing them standing there in the corner.

"Hurry, 'Lena. I'm already late. What's up?" she asked whilst trying to get into her 14-inch-heel.

"Uh, I guess you're gonna be later then." I told her and pointed behind her. She gave me a confused look and turned around only to have her jaw drop to the floor as well. She stood there totally in shock, mirroring the boys faces. But she got herself together - as she always did.

"Damon?" she breathed and walked towards him and put her arms around his neck. He didn't move, not sure if he should believe his eyes. Stefan did the same, looking at me and then at my sister who had stopped hugging her lover and turned back to me.

"'Lena, I didn't know you knew Damon. Why didn't you tell me?" she asked and she threw me a look which I knew too well. She was annoyed that he was there. I should have known. She probably had plans to find someone she could cheat with tonight. And I crossed her plans. But I didn't really care. She had to sit this one through.

"Well, I didn't until tonight. He had me mistaken for you, so I needed to prove that we're not the same person." I explained giving the two men an 'I told you so' look. I was as annoyed as Kat.

The boys still didn't move. I couldn't blame them. I would have been overwhelmed as well. But I was at the end with my nerves.

"Okay, so now that you know that I wasn't lying - which I never do by the way - I'd like to spend the rest of my night as planned." I shot Stefan an asking look and apparently my voice got him out of his shock.

"Uh, yeah, sure." he stammered and pointed a last confused look at my sister in his brother's arms. I took his arm and led him towards the door. I wouldn't come back her soon. I didn't know what my sister's plans were, now that she had to come up with a different one. And I wasn't really in the mood to run into her having hot and heavy sex in my house whilst I hadn't pleased in such a long time.

The rest of the dinner - which we had in a different restaurant, not as nice as the other one though - was a little awkward for the both of us. Stefan seemed distracted the whole time and I had troubles deepening our conversation until the point I just gave up.

But at least it led to the thing I've wanted for quite some time: Sex.

He brought me to his house and now I saw him focusing entirely on me again, and I was glad to see the spark in his eyes again that I had spotted earlier tonight. He led me to his bedroom and finally I was allowed to touch him and be passionate and open about my desires I felt towards him

(...)

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_**Haha don't be mad at me for excluding the smut. I'll promise I'll write the scene in the next chapter I just thought I'd give you an update since I've been gone so long. Sorry again for that!  
Let's hope I'll write the next chapter faster!**_

_**Love you guys. And please comment . it makes me happy every time no ma**__**tter what mood I'm in :)**_


	4. A Risky Idea

**So here I am again. It didn't take me too long now did it? I'll try to upload on a more regular basis but somehow I fail to manage my life right now ahaha. Anyways, I hope you guys like the chapter and I decided to exclude SE sex seeing that I got a lot of suggestions to just not write it. And I mean that wasn't too hard for me haha  
I know that chapter isn't my longest one but I need to have some structure in my story; the next chapter is hopefully up soon :)**

Enjoy. 3

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I woke up as the sun shone through the curtains in Stefan's room and even though everything seemed to be perfect and how I've always wanted it - I didn't feel good. I felt uncomfortable and as I got myself up onto my elbows my eyes fell on the guy lying next to me in bed. Why did I have the feeling that he was nothing special anymore? Like all the other guys I had been with?

Carefully I moved into his direction to stare at him, searching for the guy I've thought I was in love with. I couldn't find him. I mean, I was still aware of the fact that Stefan was a hot smoking guy but he was missing something. Maybe it had something to do with the sex last night. It was okay, but it didn't rock my world. It never did. I had anticipated intercourse so much but when it came it didn't meet half my expectations. But that shouldn't be a reason to break up should it?

A sigh escaped my lips and I got up to shower and to freshen up. I hoped it would clear my thoughts and after twenty minutes under the luxury hot shower I felt a little better again. Still confused as hell, but better. That might have stood in connection with the way my thoughts went back to last night. I thought about the things he did that I liked and I zoomed out on my uncomfortable feeling that didn't go away. He had skills in bed that was for sure and he was so sweet and seemed so nice. But since I had seen his behavior last night in the restaurant, his icy glare and that cold voice, my imagine of him had changed. He had a different side to him but he hid it like he wasn't able to accept that side and that scared the hell out of me. But I was determined to discover that side and learn to love it. Stefan and I would work through it. He was the person I should love. He made me feel happy and safe. He made me glad that I was alive, I guess. Why shouldn't I be with him?

As I walked into the bedroom I found it empty. Where did he go? Noises from downstairs answered me that question and, after I put on my clothes from last night, I followed them. Stefan stood in the kitchen preparing a small breakfast and the smell of the bacon filled the room and I shortly got the feeling to be in heaven. I went over to my boyfriend, kissed him good morning and together we ate in silence. I couldn't quite define if I felt comfortable with that but he apparently did, so I just went with it.

He brought me home, I also got him talking again and the weird feeling from this morning was gone and forgotten.

And it was for the next four months. I found myself slowly falling for the man I called my boyfriend and everything seemed like it went according to plan. I moved in with Stefan, was promoted at work and I actually enjoyed my weekly shopping trips with my annoying sister for a change. She was still with that Damon Guy from the other night and she loved to share every detail of their sex life with me but I sort of was interested in that kind of stuff now, since I had a man to entertain.  
Today was another Wednesday and with that, another day I spent with my sister.

"So, guess what I found out the other night, Elena!" Kat asked with excitement in her eyes whilst we were walking towards Victoria's Secret, her favorite shop one earth.

"What? What could you possibly find out about his sexual preferences that you don't already know?" I asked her with a sarcastic smile on my face.

"Oh, don't be so dirty all the time." She laughed at me, being aware of the irony in that sentence. "No, Damon and I had dinner last night and I asked him about Stefan." I shot a look at her.  
"Just to be sure that he's the right choice for you, honey!" She hurried to add.

"So? What did he say?"

"Well, he didn't say much but - you should sit down for that one - they're brothers!"

"They're what?" I turned to her in disbelief. Stefan never mentioned a brother or family in general besides his father and his dead mother, at all.

"Brothers, Elena. Damon is a couple years older but they won't talk or even be in the same room with each other. I couldn't find out why though." Kat looked like she was thinking hard and I could just stare at her. That would be the biggest coincidence that had happened to me n my lifetime and I really couldn't picture them as brothers. I mean, I didn't know Damon at all but even in that night they seemed fundamentally different. But so were Katherine and I, maybe it was possible.

"So his last name is Salvatore as well?" I asked, just to get more confirmation.

"Yep, I don't know why we just noticed that now. I've never asked for Stefan's last name and you never asked for Damon's. We could have figured it all out ages ago." She giggled. What ever she found so funny, I couldn't see it. But her laughter was contagious like always and I broke into a smile. And then an idea hit me.

"Hey, listen to me. You said they won't talk to each other right?" Kat nodded.

"So, what do you think about getting them together. I don't know, get them to accept each other again. I mean, I don't know what has happened between them, but I don't believe it's unforgivable."

"Oh, Elena, always wants to make the world a better place. How do you imagine to do that?" She didn't seem fond on the idea.

"Well, what about dinner at the grill? We could double-date?!" I had a hopeful tone in my voice. Usually I hated double-dates but this seemed like a really good idea. Risky, but good.

Now Kat was listening because of unknown reasons. "Hmm, and how do you expect them to come? I mean they're not gonna be up for the idea having dinner with the hated brother, am I right?"

"Yes you are. But we don't have to tell them, do we? I'm just gonna tell Stefan that you've invited us over for dinner, I'll just leave Damon out. And you can do the same - just don't mention Stefan." My eyes were darted into hers. That should work. I couldn't stand disharmony in any kind of way and how sad was it, that those brothers weren't able to have a simple talk? I couldn't leave it as it is.

"Elena, you're doing it again. You get your nose into stuff that is not supposed to be seen by you. That's their personal thing you know? Don't get too involved, they might not like it." Kat brought on one last try to get me re-think my idea.

"I know, Kat, I know. But if I don't do anything they probably won't talk ever again. I can't let that happen. They are family for God's Sake, they're supposed to love each other to death." I looked at her. "Are you in or are you out?"

"Okay, fine, fine. I'm in. Otherwise you'll whine about that for the rest of your life. We'll do it."

I squealed and hugged her. "Thank you!"

Katherine sighed. "Yeah, well, I hope you won't regret it."

But unfortunately I did.

* * *

**What do you think? Did I overdo it with Elena's selflessness? Lemme know what you think; I love reviews hehe. Thanks for all the Follows and Favs! But everyone of you could review it so I know what I'm doing :D 3**


	5. What Have I Gotten Myself Into

why the hell did I think this was a good idea again? god, I hadn't even bothered to ask stefan why he couldn't stand his brother in the first place. what if there was a good reason to it? how could she have been so naive and just assume it would all work out as long as they were forced to interact?  
"stupid stupid _stupid."_ i muttered under my breath as I entered the kitchen to get the first course. see how bad it went, they hadn't even started to eat and i was already scared that violence would take place in my living room.

"honey, i told you this was a bad idea." kat said whilst stepping around the kitchen counter to help me.

"i know it was, captain obvious." i spat and immediately felt sorry, it wasn't kat's fault there were in this situation. "do you think it's a good idea to leave them both alone in there?" i turned nervously around to look at her.

"they both stayed, didn't they?"

"only because you forced damon to. he would have never stayed if he didn't love you as much as he does. he would do anything for you, even stay here after you manipulated him to come."

"you see us a couple of minutes and you already assume to know our relationship pretty well, don't you? i'm aware he loves me." she paused for a moment, "it would be exciting to see how far i can push him, don't you think?" she asked sweetly but nothing could hide the evil behind the curl of her lips and i knew she was very well capable of playing games that hurt everyone in the process but her.

"kat, focus. not everything is about you all the time. we'll talk about your idiotic and heartless ideas some other time. just... just go check on them okay? i don't want them to rip each other to shreds."

kat shrugged as if it didn't matter to her, and as i knew her i could be quite confident that it really didn't. she didn't love damon the way he loved her, not one bit. i had found out that much after hearing story after story about him being all sweet and innocent around her, doing everything in his power to please her. and i knew katherine was more than happy to be the center of his world and be treated like a princess. that didn't mean she wouldn't replace him in an impulsive sudden moment with the next guy that came around, there weren't many that would reject her. probably none at all, i sighed. it was almost a miracle that kat let damon stick around for so long and that made it even more cruel in my terms. .

i stepped out of the kitchen and placed the first court on the dinner table, bracing myself by taking a deep breath. and another. and another. why was i so anxious about this whole situation? what was the worst case scenario that could happen? possibly fists being thrown and verbal assaults to one another. this was such a bad idea...

when i entered the living room i couldn't find my boyfriend anywhere, which could be because my eyes fell onto damon the second i stepped in and i had come to realize that i couldn't tear my eyes away when his blue ones where piercing into my soul like they did every time we made eye contact. in general it was hard to _not _look at damon. he was a gorgeous man in every way and it made me feel so guilty. i wasn't supposed to be thinking about him like that while i was in a happy and secure relationship, with _his brother_.  
so i banished the thought and thankfully damon looked away so i finally was able to spot stefan in the door frame that led to the hallway. i prayed to myself that he didn't see me ogling his brother just seconds ago.

"we're ready to start" i sat in a quiet voice of which i hoped sounded confident. but kat's eyes proved me otherwise. she just shook her head like she wanted to say 'don't be such a coward elena' and got to her feet. she offered her hand sheepishly to damon who beamed up at her and followed her to the dining room like a lost puppy. wow she really did control him.

i awkwardly lifted my head to face stefan who hadn't moved an inch but seemed to relax as soon as they were alone. suddenly i felt really bad for putting him into this twisted situation.

"i'm sorry, stefan. i didn't know what has gotten in to me to have such a stupid idea."

he smiled. "yeah, and to actually go through with it ..." he said teasingly. he wasn't mad, thank god. still, it didn't ease my guilt.

"i should have talked to you about it. i still don't know what happened between you two but it seems like there's a lot more needed than an awkward dinner."

"especially when you and katherine look exactly alike." he chuckled. "i never knew he had the same type in girls than i do."

"stefan, i'm serious." i glared at him. it was very unlike him to make jokes, well attempts of jokes, while talking about a touchy subject. and this was definitely one. and somehow i got the feeling that he was being sarcastic. i just couldn't tell exactly. but it was sure that he disliked his brother deeply.  
he tensed up every time damon's name was mentioned and he always got this cruel look in his eyes which i dreaded to see again since the first time i laid eyes on it - that night when it all started.

he stepped closer and cupped my face gently "i know, honey. and don't be sorry for being compassionate. it's one of the many things i love about you." his smile was sweet but i knew exactly that he was deflecting. he didn't want to talk about his brother any longer, so i let it slip. it wasn't like the concerns of our thoughts wasn't sitting in the very next room, possibly waiting impatiently for us to sit down and have dinner so it would finally be over with.

"i can still tell him to leave", stefan continued, but i shook my head.  
"no, now we've come so far, we're not gonna be cowards. i don't want kat to have something she can laugh at for the next couple of years. and also i think your brother will also see it as a sign of weakness when we back down now, don't you think?" i didn't even know why i cared to much about unimportant things like this, i just couldn't stand the idea of them, or rather him, thinking about her as a coward.

once again i had to banish the thought of the blue-eyed salvatore out of my mind and focus on the task at hand; trying to get through dinner unharmed and preferably in an non-awkward way. which was too much to hope for and i knew it.

"you know, i'm only doing this for you.", stefan had sobered up a bit and stared into her eyes. "because i love you. and now let's get this over with, i don't want damon to take up any of our conversations any longer."

_or thoughts_, i added in my head. out loud i said "you're right. i love you too." i tried to look confident and stefan's determined face actually let me feel a little bit better about the whole situation.

he took my hand and i gladly curled my fingers around his. it gave me strength and with that i even managed to get a smile on my face as i exclaimed "who's hungry" to the couple in the living room.

we shouldn't have bothered being worried about them getting impatient. the two of them had found a way to occupy their time which required kat to sit on his lap, his hands entangled in his hair.  
i blushed immediately, my confidence from seconds before gone in a matter of one glance at them. how could they have the decency to do that when they just _knew _that someone else would walk on them.

but as i saw kat climb of his lab with a supposed to be sweet smile - her eyes devilry glistening with joy - i also noticed that it was apparently as embarassing for damon as much as it was for me. he didn't dare to look up, just shot kat a questioning glance which she responded with a pat on his arm in a way that made clear to everyone that she was annoyed by him being uncomfortable in that moment.  
he locked his eyes to the plate in front of him and mumbled a "sorry" into our general direction.

i recognized the innocent damon from kat's stories and i couldn't help but feel bad for him. he may not even be aware of the fact how much katherine had him wrapped around her little finger. and how she could crash him any time she felt like it.

i sighed. and sat down, successfully avoiding to look at anything else than my plate. but then i realized that i must be exactly mirroring damon's position and i lifted my head.

let the games begin.

* * *

to my surprise the whole thing hadn't been as awkward and hateful as i had imagined it to be. still embarrassing while stepping the big elephant in the room but it was not as bad as it could have been. that was probably because stefan and katherine held up converstion throughout every course while i was to scared to even open my mouth. damon apparently felt as uncomfortable as me, maybe even more. he kept shifting in his seat until kat glared at him and he abruptly stopped. he was so whipped and throughout dinner i found myself admiring his strength of love for katherine because it was as evident as it could be that he would be rather at some other place right now, no matter where and with whom as long as he could escape sitting in the same room as stefan.

i felt sorry for him because a. i couldn't stand the thought of his happiness being totally independent on katherine's will, b. because his relationship with stefan not fixable - or so it seemed based on the looks of despise and a touch of disgust that crept over his face while he was listening to stefan and damon chatting as if they had known each other their whole life - and c. because i put him into the situation and he couldn't do anything about it.

at some point during the main course i zoomed out of the conversation because first of all i didn't add anything useful to it and second of all it too made me a little itchy that my sister and my boyfriend were getting along so fine. it was way more interesting to observe the blue-eyed man sitting across me through my lashes whilst trying to hide behind my long hair. he caught me once or twice while i was analyzing every one of his movements but i only got annoyed glances; he was way to focused on katherine. the jealousy nearly dripping out of his pores.

i couldn't explain why i was so obsessed with him but i unsuccessfully tried to convince myself that it was just because i felt sorry for him. or maybe i was just curious. i still wanted to know what had happened between them that was so bad that they were acting like they did now. i hated me being nosy but it was one of my character traits i couldn't get in control. i guess that was also one of the reasons why i initiated this dinner in the first place: i was curious what stefan had been hiding successfully from me. i hadn't even been aware of the fact that he had a brother.  
and it hurt that he hadn't trusted me enough to tell me whatever it was, especially since i had opened up to him with everything that had happened to kat and me in the past.

so yeah, dinner went by smoother than expected and only once did damon make a snarky comment on stefan that went somewhere along the lines of "obviously he knows what he's talking about" - which i thought held more to it than stefan's words being 'i don't understand why someone would go down the path of addiction. there's always a choice."

why was he so bitter about stefan but all loving about katherine? i couldn't grasp the complexity that was damon salvatore and it held me up that night.  
why was i so intrigued with him?

i concluded that it was best to keep out of his way, for stefan's sake, for his own sake and finally for my sake as well.

'i'm just glad it's over', i told myself before i finally was able to fall asleep.

* * *

did i really just posted a new chapter? am i sick?  
really glad that i was finally able to provide you with an update.

you may have noticed the lack of caps in my writing and if it irritates you - i'm sorry - i'm just experimenting with some things.

- also do you think i should try changing the narrative perspective? i found myself typing a lot with 'she' and 'her' when i meant to type 'i' or 'me'. lemme know what you think!

and please review. i want to know what you think and how you would like the story to continue.  
thanks to you all for your patience and know that i will try everything to make the next update happening faster than this one.


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